Tex needs to exorcise his MCG demons
It was the second time the Crows and Taylor Walker have returned to the MCG since last year's Grand Final loss, and things didn't get much better for the Adelaide captain. After 10 touches and no goals in round 13 against Hawthorn, Walker – who was interestingly met with jeers from the Richmond faithful whenever he went near the ball – had just 11 and kicked one goal – including just three touches to his name at the main break. Comparatively, his opponent David Astbury had 18 possessions (13 to half-time) and 10 one percenters as the Crows' forward again struggled to find his feet on the big stage just a week after he led his team to a stirring win over West Coast. There's something broken when it comes to 'Tex' at the MCG, and he needs to find a way to fix whatever is plaguing him.
The Tigers are scary good, even when they're not
It was yet another "grind it out and wear down the opposition" kind of win for Richmond. And, that's what makes the Tigers the competition's benchmark team; they can win even when they don't hit top gear. The Crows, to their credit, hung around until three-quarter time and were only 16 points adrift at the final change despite a number of players having ineffective games. However, you always felt as though the Tigers would get it done easily despite not playing to their powerful best for much of the night. Dustin Martin didn't do much until the second half, Dan Butler spent most of the game fighting against an ankle injury and they finished with Jack Graham (shoulder) and Nathan Broad (cheek) on the bench, but the premiers collectively and steadily motored away as the game wore on. With Bachar Houli and Nick Vlastuin to return next week while fellow premiership players Kamdyn McIntosh and Jacob Townsend remain squeezed out of the side, it's a realistic question to ask; just who is going to beat them?
Finals are slipping away for the Crows
A win on Friday night would have kept the Crows in touch with the teams vying for a spot in the bottom half of the eight. A loss has put a serious dent in their finals aspirations, which were given a new lease of life last week against West Coast. Their run home is tough – next week they host Geelong off the back of Thursday night's win over Sydney and then face a trip to the Gabba (where, incidentally, they have a decent recent record), but then play three current top eight sides in a row plus the ninth-placed North Melbourne. Put simply, it's an uphill battle for the Crows and Friday night was a devastating blow after last week's injection of hope.
A tale of two seasons
While Rory Sloane made up for lost time in his second game since round four, fringe Crow Curtly Hampton did his chances of holding onto his spot absolutely no help with a stunningly bad game. Sloane finished with 31 disposals, 10 clearances and seven tackles after returning from a foot injury and was the Crows' best, while Hampton – in his third AFL game for the season – didn't touch the ball until the third quarter and ended with a startling two disposals and four tackles for the game. It certainly wasn't the type of performance you'd expect from a player fighting to stay in the team after a season largely spent at SANFL level, as Hampton time and time again found himself in the wrong position against a variety of opponents including Dylan Grimes and Jayden Short.
Is this the play of the season?
A week after kicking three goals and taking 16 marks against Sydney in a heroic performance, fan favourite Jack Riewoldt nearly put together contenders for both goal and mark of the year in the one amazing second-quarter play. First, he planted his knees on Kyle Hartigan's shoulders to attempt a soaring grab but wasn't able to hold onto the ball as he came to
